The World Bank released a first draft of its latest World Development Report on 'agriculture for development' on 9 April.
Land grabs
IFI governance
News
Bank failed to apply safeguards in DRC: Inspection Panel
A preliminary investigation by the Inspection Panel has reveled serious concerns about Bank programmes to develop the rainforests of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Rights
News
Early repayment by paper firm relieves culpability for violence, says IFC
The International Finance Corporation has washed its hands of a violent eviction carried out by the Brazilian federal police in January on behalf of the pulp and paper company Aracruz Cellulose.
Social services
Commentary
Contradictions in the World Banks India Country Assistance Strategy
In August, representatives of social movements, national alliances and civil society organisations met in New Delhi and issued a statement explicitly rejecting the Bank's strategy for India.
Rights
News
IFC decision pending on controversial Haiti free trade zone
The Board of the International Finance Corporation, the World Bank’s private-sector arm, is in the final stages of approval for a loan for development of the first of a series of proposed free trade zones along the border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
Rights
News
Bank timid steps on land reform
The World Bank’s Land Policy department is preparing a Policy Research Report on land reform, which NGOs criticise for too heavily favouring a market-assisted approach.
Land
News
WB land reform: “land for whoever can buy it”
Social activists, academics and researchers from Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala, South Africa and Thailand gathered prior to the Spring Meetings to condemn the land reform policies driven by the World Bank and IMF for driving many families into poverty and increasing indebtedness.
Land
News
Success of Brazilian land reform contested
Brazil is clearly a controversial illustration of World Bank land reform policy.
Land
News
World Bank land reform strategy disputed
A new report from US campaign group Food First assesses the World Bank’s approach to land reform.
Land
News
Kyrgyzstan land moratorium lifted
The five-year moratorium on the sale and purchase of land in Kyrgyzstan will be lifted.
Featured briefings
3 July 2024
The Bretton Woods Observer: Summer 2024
3 July 2024
Is the World Bank rolling back commitments to citizen engagement, again?
Understanding the Bank’s chequered history with public, community and civil society participation is key for understanding what is at stake and what to do next.
3 June 2024
A way out for IMF reform
New paper analyses the IMF 16th Quota Review and identifies key governance reforms feasible in the current economic and geopolitical context.